Towards digital taxonomy...

Recognition of the main morphological characteristics within mysid species needs a lot of practice. Often ecologists lack this taxonomic knowledge but need to identify their specimens. Well-illustrated documentation showing clearly characteristics to look at may help to solve this problem.The growing possibilities of digital photography make it possible to make lots of pictures without spending big amounts of time and money. These pictures, together with a well-structured description in a user-friendly environment, give new identification and analysis possibilities.Data is taken from different sources: specimens available in a growing reference collection, pictoral data from literature sources, photographs sent by colleagues, data retrieved on the internet. In a first stage pictures taken through the binocular are taken. Secondly also pictures from microscopic preparations are added.The database may finally serve as a digital reference collection for different purposes. It may even be used as a starting point for new description in combination with classic drawings and taxonomic databases such as Taxonlan.This case study may also be a starting point for a similar approach in other taxa